Mount Kelly and Plymouth College help South West dominate ESSA Relay Champs in London

MOUNT Kelly College and Plymouth College returned home with a host of medals from the English Schools’ Swimming Association Team Relay Championships on Saturday at the London Aquatics Centre.

Mount Kelly showed their improvement since the opening of their 50m pool by claiming nine podium placings from 12 finals, including six gold medals and four national records.

Last year, they only managed six medals, none of which were gold.

Plymouth College, like in 2016, won eight medals, but this time around they were all either silver or bronzes.

Mount Kelly’s first title came in the senior girls’ 4x50m freestyle, which they won in 1:47.46 minutes, with Plymouth College in second place.

The Tavistock-based school followed that up with victory and a national record in the senior boys’ 4x50m medley final. They clocked an impressive time of 1:43.14. Plymouth College finished third, behind second-placed Millfield.

Mount Kelly’s third crown came in the intermediate girls’ freestyle event, where they clocked 1:50.64 to win, with Plymouth College again picking up bronze.

It was the same result in the intermediate boys’ medley final, with Mount Kelly winning in 1:52.48 and Plymouth College taking third in 1:56.55.

Their fifth title of the event at the Olympic pool was the big one – the senior boys’ freestyle race. They won that in national record time of 1:34.19, with Plymouth College, who were last year’s winning, taking bronze.

Mount Kelly’s final title came in the intermediate boys’ freestyle relay which they won in another record time of 1:41.16, with Plymouth College again winning bronze.

The west Devon outfit’s silver medal came in the junior girls’ freestyle final, while they took bronzes in the junior girls’ medley and intermediate girls’ medley events.

The inter girls’ medley final could not have been closer, with just 0.08 of a second separating the top three. Millfield just touched first in 2:02.25, with Plymouth College taking silver in 2:02.30 and Mount Kelly third in 2:02.33.

Plymouth College also won silver in the senior girls’ medley relay in 2:01.48.

In addition, Mount Kelly swimmers won the para senior boys’ medley and freestyle event in national record times for the South West.

The South West dominated the championships in London. Seven of the 12 finals had a top three involving Mount Kelly, Millfield and Plymouth College and no none-South West school won a title.